The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cost of living an asset for area economy
In the 1950s and ’60s, the promotional selling line for Cleveland and its metropolitan area was “Best Location in the Nation.”
Whether that still holds true in the 2010s might be disputed by other, more thriving urban areas in the continental United States.
Still, the Cleveland area has some compelling arguments to make for itself as a desirable place to live, work, raise a family or start a business.
That argument is supported by housing prices and other cost-of-living measurements commonly used as measuring sticks for a metropolitan area’s value and livability.
According to data compiled by Zillow.com, a widely used online real estate database, in December 2017 the median home value in the Cleveland metro area was $137,000. That compares favorably to the Ohio median figure of $130,000 and the national average of $206,300.
Even when housing prices are as reasonable as they are in the Cleveland metro area, prospective homebuyers still must have steady incomes to afford monthly mortgage payments.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau and Economic Modeling Systems International, average earnings per worker in Northeast Ohio hover around the $47,000 level. That is about $8,000 below the national average. The median household income in the Cleveland Metro area is $53,546, compared to the national figure of $59,181.
The difference between median household incomes just cited is mitigated somewhat by the Northeast Ohio’s lower overall cost of living.
Economic Modeling Systems International places Northeast Ohio’s cost of living index at 96 against the national standard of 100. That is slightly higher than Ohio’s index of 94 but lower than the indices in comparable metro areas of Pittsburgh (107) and Milwaukee (109).
Sylvio Mecone is the director of Research & Market Outreach for Team Northeast Ohio, an economic development agency in Cleveland.
“Cost of living is a business expense,” Mecone said. “Businesses don’t have to pay employees as much here because our cost of living is so reasonable.”